Truck drivers play an essential role in the world economy, but life isn’t easy for them. Drivers face a wide variety of issues and challenges that affect both them and the industry as a whole. For example, trucker issues contributed to the driver shortage, as qualified drivers leave the industry because of low pay and difficult working conditions. Other truck driver challenges include issues related to health and wellness. Truckers must deal with a lack of exercise, poor diet, extended periods without bathroom breaks, eye strain, cramped conditions, poor sleep — not to mention the mental toll of being away from home and family for days at a time. Though many drivers earn good wages, the physical and mental stress isn’t always worth it to them.
Check back here for the latest news and insights on driver issues, or visit our Trucking Industry News archive to find additional information.
Truck drivers who started in their 50s and 60s share how they got into the industry, along with their experiences on the road.
FMCSA has approved 92,000 new motor carrier applications through October, smashing 2020’s full-year record.
SCOTUS’ request for input on the CTA case suggests it is interested in the question of state versus federal preemption, and trucking attorneys are happy as a result.
SCOTUS is calling on the Biden administration to weigh in on the legal issues.
The election still needs to be certified by the NLRB.
While a federal appeals court has halted enforcement of the Biden administration’s COVID vaccine mandate, companies should familiarize themselves with the requirements regardless.
California officials are trying to address a perceived shortage of truck drivers by making it easier to get a license.
ATA’s suit comes just a few days after what it says was a “major victory” with the Labor Department secretary’s statements regarding trucking and the vaccine rule.
Last week’s conclusion that solo drivers aren’t under the vaccine rule is turning to this week’s questions about team drivers.
Solo drivers working for large trucking companies will likely be exempt from the Biden administration’s vaccine requirement, the industry’s largest lobby group has confirmed.
If independent owner-operators are included, Convoy analyst Terrazas says employment is probably at 2019 levels.
The TCA calls the mandate “disastrous.”
As the industry prepares for the new entry-level driver training rule to go into effect in February, fleets that train their own drivers and schools face new challenges in complying.
Federal regulators have vastly improved the ability to keep unsafe drivers off the road but the trucking industry is scrambling to make up the shortfall.
The front-month price of ultra low sulfur diesel on the CME commodity exchange is at its lowest level in several weeks.
Regulators are urging carriers to take action to ensure their ELDs remain legal after mobile networks transition out of 3G.
Arkansas-based carrier’s trucking segment posted revenue of $113M and brokerage division posted revenue of $81M in Q3.
Also on the podcast: The growing tie between high natural gas prices and what you’re paying for diesel.
North Carolina-based carrier’s third pay raise in a year comes amid unprecedented freight volumes and demand for drivers.
An ATA survey reveals a driver vaccination rate of 50%, with more than half of the unvaccinated saying they will not get a shot under any circumstance.
In his speech, Chris Spear touted the ATA’s role in the infrastructure act now before Congress.
The research group revealed its list at the annual meeting of the American Trucking Associations.
Triumph Bancorp CEO Graft revealed the numbers on the new factoring and brokerage companies that have signed up to the processing platform whose capabilities were bolstered earlier this year with the acquisition of HubTran.
Long-term supply chain challenges could minimize the value of driver pay increases.
Former trucking school execs Robert Waggoner and Emmit Marshall were sentenced for bilking the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of nearly $4.2 million.
The winning attorney doesn’t think the award is big enough to constitute a nuclear verdict.
The Biden administration is pushing industry to take immediate and long-term steps to get ports and intermodal transport working smoothly.
The two contracts the Teamsters signed with XPO are the highlights of the union’s last few months.
Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services jumped 10% Friday as the company navigated supply chain challenges during the third quarter to beat analysts’ forecasts.
Recruiters are pulling out all the stops to attract truck drivers. But one trucker charity founder says carriers’ priorities change when tragedy strikes: They often retrieve the freight but fail to help the drivers’ families.
Owner-operators are warning the FMCSA that shortages at drug-testing clinics are threatening truck driver livelihoods.
The Teamsters backed the actions and praised the “brave” drivers; the court suggested XPO might have had a strong case.
With upward adjustments in July and August figures, the gains recorded in September were already coming from a higher base than what earlier had been recorded.
FMCSA is giving states three years to comply with a new truck-driver ban for drug and alcohol abusers.
Two fleetwide messages sent to drivers Tuesday from Tim Kohl, CEO of Marten Transport, thanked drivers for their patience “in working through some systems issues” the company started experiencing Sunday, but company executives have declined to issue a public statement.
Observers are left to speculate why the Supreme Court offered no opinion.
The TCA’s public-facing stance on the vaccination mandate might not have taken place a few years ago.
Wisconsin-based truckload carrier Marten Transport was targeted in an apparent cyberattack that knocked out its operating system around 2:30 p.m. CDT on Sunday, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The sole, unidentified backer of the safety tech startup was inspired by a crash involving distracted driving.
A bench trial resulted in an award of more than $27 million.
Tabitha Moshier spent six days getting her husband’s body home from Maryland to North Carolina after he was found dead in his rig. He had tested positive for COVID-19.
A pair of lawyers tell a TCA audience that taking steps early can help in later litigation.
The Teamsters allege that TFI’s TForce Freight broke federal law when it reduced the speed limit of its trucks from 68 to 65 mph.
From time to time, truck drivers require additional training. Whether it is refresher training or due to a recent incident, success depends on having the right approach.
The TCA’s meeting in 2020 happened just as the pandemic was about to strike; it sold out its booth space this year.
Driver pay increases continue to roll in as a strong macroeconomic environment shows little signs of slowing.
Lease-purchase deals haven’t always had a great reputation, and this TCA session focused on how to make them work.
An ongoing custody battle over his 9-year-old daughter caused Missouri truck driver J.T. McLean — who was a suspect in four homicides — to “snap,” his brother says.
If the high court does not grant review and AB5 is implemented, the state’s trucking industry will look to a variety of solutions to be able to use independent contractors and still stay in compliance with the law.
Fueling the good times for drivers: a growing imbalance between the amount of loads available and the truckers who haul them.
TFI International is working to hire more truck drivers at TForce Freight as it cuts salespeople amid a push to rebuild the UPS legacy operation.
As the head cheese of Sargento Foods drivers, Duaine Conrad has set the example in how to avoid trouble on the road.
Former government safety officials now have investments and profits to keep in mind as they help their companies chart a course for autonomous vehicles.
Trucking companies and trade associations say the shortfall in qualified drivers is hitting specialty segments especially hard, affecting revenue and growth.
This AskWaves looks at what separates truck dispatchers from truck brokers.
TCA stops short of saying it is against the mandate, but it clearly is concerned.
Times are very good for independent drivers, according to a person who works with their finances.
A truck driver agreed to transport nearly 1,000 pounds of marijuana under the watch of federal agents after his load was intercepted at the U.S.-Canada border.
The lack of federal grant money for truck parking again frustrates small-business truckers.
Motion Intelligence’s platform limits smartphone use while the vehicle is moving, sharply curtailing a key cause of accidents.
After a period of guilty pleas and no new indictments, the case has now expanded further.
J. J. Keller announced its VideoProtects monitoring platform is available on the Geotab Marketplace, making the safety solution available to more than 2.4 million vehicles.
A law firm’s analysis of the Biden administration rule shows several unanswered questions.
Two nonprofit groups, Trucks with Room to Spare and CN Supply, are collecting donations, mobilizing to help Hurricane Ida survivors in southwest Louisiana.
Canadian truck driver Robert Mitchell had the misfortune of picking up a load of paint thinner on Sept. 11, 2001, with the intention of transporting it to the U.S.
A FreightWaves poll found that 65% of 1,120 truckers who responded have been vaccined but nearly 73% of the holdouts would quit if forced to “get the jab.”
Lots of questions remain, but it is clear that OSHA is going to play a big role in shaping the vaccination mandate standards.
On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, truck driver Russell Vereen reflects on the 205 days spent working at a refrigerated trailer temporary morgue at ground zero.
President Biden has ordered companies of 100 or more employees to require workers to be vaccinated or tested weekly.
The financial analysis of Uber Freight does not yet include the impact of Transplace, which the digital brokerage is acquiring.
The 19-day manhunt for a Missouri truck driver is over after he was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday. He was tied to four homicides.
Register now for Trimble’s Supply Chain in.sights, a virtual series on how to best support drivers.
The IRS level effectively sets the rate paid by companies to their drivers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has declared a Massachusetts man an imminent hazard after commercial vehicle inspectors claim he crashed his rig into a telephone pole and fled the scene.
Truck driving in Hawaii might sound like paradise. Locals say they face a range of challenges unique to island living.
Growth in couriers and warehouses took an outsize percentage of the total net growth in jobs last month.
Truck parking reservation platform TruckPark is making its services available through Roady’s Truck Stops.
A family-owned dry and liquid bulk trucking company ceased operations as of midnight Tuesday, leaving 342 drivers without jobs, sources say.
If a provider of capacity isn’t already preapproved for Hurricane Ida relief, there will be another chance in November to get into the program for future needs.
FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse has several reporting requirements for carriers, but those without proper protocols in place could be reporting violations they shouldn’t, and that is harming drivers.
The pandemic-related HOS waiver has been in place since March 2020 and was due to expire Tuesday.
Hurricane Ida triggers emergency rule allowing truck drivers more time behind the wheel.
Representatives from the trucking company defendants are either invisible or not speaking.
Investigators are seeking the public’s help in finding a Missouri trucker charged in the deaths of his girlfriend and her daughter as manhunt continues.
If the remaining companies also settle, questions of whether there was a conspiracy not to hire drivers who owed money to previous employers may never be answered.
Regulators will poll the trucking industry on the value of the hours-of-service waiver as FMCSA readies another extension.
The previous “nuclear verdict” record is believed to be the more than $400 million award last fall, also in Florida.
Retaining drivers — not increasing the driver pool — is the way to address supply chain disruption, OOIDA asserts.
A push to legislate the definition of app-based drivers also is ongoing, as well as a lawsuit by the state’s attorney general.
The FMCSA seeks comment on a stricter field-of-vision requirement as part of alternate medical standards for certain drivers.
Dedicated carrier Cowan Systems is offering sign-on bonuses as high as $20,000 for newly hired drivers.
The ruling by a judge at the county level is likely to be appealed and stayed before immediate implementation.
The downward pressure on oil markets can be summed up by the two D’s: delta and dollar.
Werner claims it will face a “significant burden” if regulators do not provide more flexibility in how truck driver licenses are issued.
The numbers coming in for 12 months after the pandemic’s darkest days suggest COVID kept some drivers from switching jobs.
A Michigan truck driver was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday for his role in a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 64 that killed one man and injured another driver in Franklin County, Kentucky, in September 2019.
As wireless providers switch off 3G networks in favor of 5G, some ELDs may no longer work.
Whether it is difficulty restocking gasoline stations or the need to move agricultural products around due to drought, the waivers seek to boost trucking capacity.
A Commerce Department advisory group recommends that the department coordinate an interagency approach to addressing the driver shortage.
Other plans called for a more radical rebuild but ran into opposition.
